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Lady Indians run with Raiders on Senior Night

Coastal Point • R. Chris Clark: Indian River freshman Maggie Ford drives to the hoop against Woodbridge on Senior Night, last Monday, Feb. 10.Two months ago, the Indian River High School girls’ basketball team struggled to compete with the better teams in the conference, losing to more experienced teams, such as Woodbridge, 48-7. Nearing the end of the season, however, the young squad has come together and come a long way — most recently battling tough against that same Woodbridge team in a 57-41 loss on Senior Night last Monday, Feb. 10.

“I’m proud of us. We’ve grown so much,” said head coach Matt Mayette after the game. “To lose 48-7 to these guys the first time and then to be competitive until the last two possessions — we just battle and fight, and we’re battling and fighting with six kids, so I can’t be more proud of these kids. They work so hard.”

“Not how I wanted it to end, but I’m pretty lucky to have Coach Mayette this year and to be a part of this team. I’m going to miss it a lot,” said an emotional Alex Myers after her last home game.

Junior point guard Taylor Billinger continued to rack up the points for the Indians, putting up 20 on the night. Freshman guard Maggie Ford also hit double digits, scoring 10 in the matchup.

After the game, Billinger noted a change in the Lady Blue Raiders’ approach, in comparison to the last time the two teams met, and described how the team coped with playing with a short rotation.

“Even though it turned out as a loss, I feel like this team actually respected us,” she noted. “They came harder. They knew we were going to prepare to try and beat them this time. It was hard playing with less players, but we tried to work it out.”

The Lady Indians will cap off a productive season with a three-game road stint and were headed to Smyrna High School on Wednesday, Feb. 12, (after Coastal Point press time), before facing Stephen Decatur on President’s Day at 12:15 p.m. and finally heading to Seaford the following Tuesday.